Chapter 25

Walking down the streets with Raphael seemed like a big crime now! I mean, in new Orleans, it was only the girls glaring daggers at me thinking am his girlfriend but here I noticed something different. Everyone here, I mean the people in general... Elderlies..Men and women...old and young...they were all giving me this disgusting look like I was smelling or stinking. They were staring widely like I was a carrier of some communicable disease didn't they want to contract.

 Some even murmered and whispered to themselves as walked past them.I pulled Raphael's left shoulder down and whispered to him.

"Is something wrong with my dress?"

He runs his eyes from my head to toe and then back to my eyes. He let out a low gasp like he did notice something and I instinctively clutched the hem of my dress.

 "Your dress is too lovely Ashy" He said with a pity nod.

 I smacked the back of his head in annoyance..I must be so foolish to have asked this goat that question.

 "Why are they staring at me like a sickler?" I asked running my gaze through their hard faces.

 He looks around and shrugged, he threw his arms around my shoulders.

"Just ignore them...they are just surprised to see new faces in their town and beautiful ones at that" He was grinning widely and we finally walked into a supermarket.

"We should get some ketchup mustard sauce" I told the seemingly distracted Rapheal, his gaze was not on the carrots he held and when I followed his lost eyes they fell on a beautiful young teenager or should I say lady. She was cute, her hair was dark brown and her eyes were deep brown in color. She was picking out some cabbages from the rack.

Raphael dropped the carrots and dragged me along until we stopped right in front of her.

" Hi. Sunflower" He spelled in the sweetest voice he could muster with a seductive playful smile on his rosy pink lips.

 I shook my head and rolled my eyes.. Not because he called her that.. sunflower but the tone in which he said it.

She was more than a sunflower...she was a moonbeam.

She tied her hair in a messy bun, wearing a white doll collar shirt with a blue suspender skirt on the top. Her small face was fair and tender, with cherry-red lips, making her look both cute and exquisite. The shining silver necklace she wore around her white slender neck looked like an amulet and it had this tiny sparkles on it making it very conspicuous to anyone that comes very close to her.

 "Hi handsome" She said shyly.

 She really didn't look like the shy type but she was timidly brave...what an oxymoron.

Feeling proud of himself, Raphael took the bold step and confidently asked, "Can I get your number?"

 She didn't seem to like that question cos the welcoming smile on her face was now replaced with hostility. She turned her gaze back to the rack and continue picking out the best cabbages into her shopping cart.

I felt silly coming here with this dummy...She made it appear as though shopping was more important than him, but blame the playboy who can not take his gaze away from a beauty.

"C'mon, I know you are not taken.

 Perhaps she intended to prepare jollof rice and salad, as the girl was selecting kidney beans and green peas.

Delicious...

Grasping Raph's t-shirt, I gave him the pitying, she-isn't-interested expression..

Perhaps I caught a glimpse of his ego being sliced, but I am not sure.

With a helpless shake of her head, Ashira went silent.

 She knew exactly how he must be feeling at the moment. For all of his humorous life, Raphael had always been the one to flirt and reject girls, but this was the first time a girl had done so. His ego was bruised. It felt like an affront to his dignity.

When she remained silent, Raphael made the decision to press harder.

"Maybe we should just become friends," he smiled broadly.

"All right," With a courteous reply, she cast a suspicious glance Ashira's way.

Ashira swiftly squashed any possibility by saying, "I am just his sister."

"Oh!' Her cherry-red lips curled into a smile as she exclaimed.

 Her eyes closed, her wide smile on her plump oval face, she sniffed the air and pursed her lips for a while before staring at me and smelling my hair.

I took one backward step and looked at my brother.

Was she alright? I gave Raphael that look, but he just grinned as if he understood why she was smelling my hair. Perhaps she liked the way my hair cream smelled, but instead of sniffing like a dog, she could have just asked for the brand, which I would have happily provided.

 "You are human!' Her eyes brightened as she opened them. Her smile faded as she took another whiff of the air. "Sapien!" Repeating the same word, she exclaimed with joy.

 "Yes...and so are you!" I stated the facts quite clearly, but I am still perplexed as to why she seemed surprised and happy to meet someone who was similar to her.

Though she was still grinning, she gave a double-take of disapproval.

Hold on.

What.

Did she just...?.

What, she was not human???

No.Perhaps my voice was not clear to her."I am delighted to meet a normal human!" She grinned so broadly that I could see the dimples on her left cheek, and I was taken aback when she abruptly threw me in a tight hug while yelling joyfully.

*Strange*

Strange because everyone in the town has been staring at me with disgust and now someone is hugging me as though I am Santa Claus bringing gifts, but to be fair, I hug her back.She giggled and winced for five minutes before letting me go.

I let out a sigh of comfort.Her hug was so tight that I was nearly out of breath.

Okay...this is bizarre. By "a normal human," what does she mean? Is it just me, or do I appear strange? Everyone seemed to be frowning. I peered down at my dress, and it was flawless.My hair was still packed in its straight, silky manner when I ran my hands through it. "Hello, nice to meet you."I am Gina." Grinning broadly, she told me.

 "Same here. Pulling at Raph's shirt to get us to leave, I forced a smile, "Ashira."

 "Hello, I am Raphael." He was reaching out to shake hands. "Her older brother"

 Unlike earlier, her deep brown eyes gleamed brightly as she gave him a quick, happy handshake.

 "I am a Mer..." Raphael coughed, interrupting her. It sounded so staged, perhaps he finally realized we should part from this lovely weirdo.

 They exchanged quick glances as though they could communicate through telepathy, and she nodded as though something had finally dawned on her.

 "Oh!" she blurted out.

What was the deal with that? 

 "Well...Will you be attending class tomorrow? Will we be taking the same class? Would you like me to take you around? I mean, we could be friends? Please, Ashira. You have my undying interest as a friend. She pouted cutesily at me while holding the tip of my clothes.

 "Umm..." I simply gave her a stage smile and nodded. I made every effort to be extremely clear, but she did not seem to notice—or perhaps she did and shrugged it off.

"Aww, you are so adorable." She gave me a playful pinch on my cheeks, and since we had only recently met, I wondered if she knew me from Adam.

She dragged her wheel to the cashier and winked at me, saying, "See you tomorrow at school, Shira."

Well, whoa, I had a nickname already from her: Shira.

 I mean, it sounded cute and naughty, so I kind of liked it.

 "Is she alright?" In a whisper, I asked Raphael.

 "Certainly." With a persistent smile, his eyes remained fixed on her back.

 Shaking my head, I pulled my love interest back to where we had been.

 "Goodbye, Shira!" The high-pitched voice of Gina startled me as she yelled from the supermarket door, causing me to shudder a little.

How in the world could she have screamed like that?

Without even a remark indicating that it was strange or even insane for her to yell in that manner, everyone simply went shopping. Good heavens, she was a woman.

 Beside me, Raphael merely giggled.

"What a loudsheee!" He mentioned at last selecting the carrot he desired. "This is where we end it."

 Wheeling our cart down to the cashier, I sighed at the thought of my newfound crazy friend.

"Hey, dazzling pearl..." To make a flirtatious gesture toward the cashier, Raphael was biting his lower lip.

I glared angrily at him, and he just snorted.

"I was simply admiring her beauty, sis," he continued, grinning at the uninterested cashier.

"Grateful..." She answered coolly, clearly a very polite woman. She pulled her red ribbon from her black leather handbag and used it to tuck her hair up, exposing her talk-slim neck with a tattoo on the left side. My eyes lingered on her neck, more specifically the tattoo there, which depicted the head of some sort of animal, perhaps a wolf or lion.

True enough, the wolf was the appropriate animal.

The wild appeared to be alive and snarling at me, and the mark was clearly visible. It was certainly not in the appearance of a snake bite.

A sudden electric shock coursed through Raphael's veins as his eyes swept over the mark. He quickly turned away from her and grinned pityingly.

"I apologize; his scent was not strong." He was extremely ashamed of himself for making flirtatious remarks to a mated female, even though her mate scent was hardly detectable. Thank heavens, there was something akin to the claim that if he continued to flirt with a mated female, he would be pleading for the Moon Goddess' wrath. He had heavily sniffed her scent before approaching her.

I cast a quick glance at them both.

 Scent...Whose scent was so faint?

 "It is fine..." The cashier smiled calmly and surprised us with a discount.

 Raph's flirtation appears to have paid off this time.

 I swear Raphael was biting his lips maniacally when a young, short-haired girl with a nose ring approached the cashier. His expression was smug as he looked down at her exposed shoulder.He smiled widely, as if he was relieved that she was not something, though I am not sure why he did that.

 Perhaps it was the cashier's tattoo that bothered him, and he was happy that his next target was free of ink. Genuinely, the tattoo was incredibly lovely; it gave off the impression that the wolf was real and was issuing a warning to anyone wishing to hurt her, as if it might suddenly leap out of her neck and defend her.

 "Let us head home!" Dragging him with me to the door, I gave Raphael the order.

"Wait," he cried, trailing behind me as if my hold was truly strong enough to move him.